Monday, January 07, 2008

New car sales reach 34 year low in Japan

Sales in Japan of new cars, trucks and buses fell to their lowest level in 34 years in 2007 due to higher gasoline prices and sluggish consumer spending, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said Monday.

Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE:TM) launched four new models between September and December and Honda Motor Co (NYSE:HMC) released its fully remodelled Fit compact car and Inspire sedan while Nissan Motor Co (NASDAQ:NSANY) put its Skyline Coupe and flagship GT-R sports model on the market but the new launches failed to lift sales.

I guess we will see how this plays out over the next year. This article cites , rising gasoline prices, aging population , a lack of consumer confidence,and the fact that people are keeping cars longer as reasons for the decline in sales.